Business policy & strategic management

Assignment - A

1. What is the importance of writing a Mission statement? Does it hold any impact on the Profitability, Growth and Market Leadership of a company?Answer:-

Mission Statement is the foundation to good strategy. It is a statement of the company’s purpose. A mission statement is a logical vantage point from which to look down the road. Below are excerpts we’ve come across over the years, as well as, plenty of examples. For a quick view, watch our video on Mission Statements. A mission statement defines the company’s purpose. It is a single statement of why something or someone exists. The question to ask to determine purpose is:A mission statement is like your North Star. A North Star, is not a place you go, it is a fixed point giving your perspective on where you are going. Your mission statement keeps you headed in the right general direction. A mission statement is a very specific umbrella statement explaining why you do everything you do within your organization. A mission statement is a statement of the organization’s reason for being, its purpose – what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment.  It explains why the organization does what it does. It says what, in the end, the organization wants to be remembered for. A clear mission statement acts as an “invisible hand” that guides people in the organization. An effective mission statement clearly defines who the customer is and what services and products the business intends to provide. It also serves as a guide for day-to-day operations and as the foundation for future decision-making.

2. Discuss the use of VRIO Framework for analysing Resources and CapabilitiesAnswer:-

VRIO framework is the tool used to analyze firm’s internal resources and capabilities to find out if they can be a source of sustained competitive advantage. To understand the sources of competitive advantage firms are using many tools to analyze their external (Porter’s 5 Forces,

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PEST analysis) and internal (Value Chain analysis, BCG Matrix) environments. One of such tools that analyze firm’s internal resources is VRIO analysis. VRIO analysis stands for four questions that ask if a resource is: valuable. Rare. Costly to imitate? And is a firm organized to capture the value of the resources? A resource or capability that meets all four requirements can bring sustained competitive advantage for the company.

Step1. Identify valuable, rare and costly to imitate resources

There are two types of resources: tangible and intangible. Tangible assets are physical things like land, buildings and machinery. Companies can easily by them in the market so tangible assets are rarely the source of competitive advantage. On the other hand, intangible assets, such as brand reputation, trademarks, intellectual property, unique training system or unique way of performing tasks, can’t be acquired so easily and offer the benefits of sustained competitive advantage. Therefore, to find valuable, rare and costly to imitate resources, you should first look at company’s intangible assets.

Finding valuable resources:

An easy way to identify such resources is to look at the value chain and SWOT analyses. Value chain analysis identifies the most valuable activities, which are the source of cost or differentiation advantage.

Finding rare resources:

How many other companies own a resource or can perform capability in the same way in your industry?

Can a resource be easily bought in the market by rivals? Can competitors obtain the resource or capability in the near future?

Finding costly to imitate resources:

Do other companies can easily duplicate a resource? Can competitors easily develop a substitute resource? Do patents protect it? Is a resource or capability socially complex? Is it hard to identify the particular processes, tasks, or other factors that form the

resource?

Step2. Find out if your company is organized to exploit these resourcesFollowing questions might be helpful:Does your company has an effective strategic management process in organization?Are there effective motivation and reward systems in place?Does your company’s culture reward innovative ideas?Is an organizational structure designed to use a resource?

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Are there excellent management and control systems?Step3. Protect the resourcesWhen you identified a resource or capability that has all 4 VRIO attributes, you should protect it using all possible means. After all, it is the source of your sustained competitive advantage. The first thing you should do is to make the top management aware of such resource and suggest how it can be used to lower the costs or to differentiate the products and services. Then you should think of ideas how to make it more costly to imitate. If other companies won’t be able to imitate a resource at reasonable prices, it will stay rare for much longer.

Step4. Constantly review VRIO resources and capabilitiesThe value of the resources changes over time and they must be reviewed constantly to find out if they are as valuable as they once were. Competitors are also keen to achieve the same competitive advantages so they’ll be keen to replicate the resources, which mean that they will no longer be rare. Often, new VRIO resources or capabilities are developed inside an organization and by identifying them you can protect you sources of competitive advantage more easily.

3. What does it take to maintain a Strategic Position of Leadership in Cola Wars? Comment, why Coke and Pepsi are often engaged in the offensive frontal attack?Answer:-

The Strategic Positioning of Coca-Cola in their Global Marketing Operation:-Examines how Coca-Cola has strategically positioned itself within the world’s soft drinks market. Given that they operate in over 200 countries, they are faced with a clear choice of whether to standardise their product offerings globally and reap the potential benefits of economies of scale, adapt their offerings to a particular market (which may facilitate increased market specific penetration), or adopt an integrated approach utilising both approaches simultaneously (Vrontis’ Adapt Stand approach). There has been much literature written regarding the external and often uncontrollable factors which may impact upon a firms positioning strategy; this paper looks at these externalities and the internal controllable in order to derive a ‘best fit’ strategic and tactical approach. Moreover, this paper looks at the strategic international positioning of Coca-Cola by utilising a number of models. If we consider business to be a kin to war, then perhaps there is no better starting point than the writings of Sun Tzu [circa 400-320 B.C.]. ‘The Art of War’ is the oldest formalised writing focusing on the concepts and principles of warfare and military strategy. Written over two millennia ago, it is still valid in the modern world, not only in military terms, but also in business. “Generally, he who occupies the field of battle first and awaits his enemy is at ease, and he who comes later to the scene and rushes into the fight is weary. And, therefore, those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him. One able to make the enemy come of his own accord does so by offering him some advantage.

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Frontal attack is one of the marketing strategies inspired by war tactics. Frontal attack involves a head on attack on the competitor by matching the competitor in all aspects – product, price, place promotion. For a frontal attack to be successful it is believed that the player should have more than three times the fire power of the opponent.

4. Differentiate between Concentric and Conglomerate Diversification while enumerating relevant examplesAnswer:-

If a business sells only one kind of product, then its success or failure depends entirely on demand for that single product. A business with a wide selection of offerings, by contrast, is more insulated from shifts in demand. This is why companies value diversification. It helps them increase sales and gain access to new markets while reducing their risk. The difference between conglomerate and concentric diversity demonstrates the breadth of diversification strategies available. Diversification strategy actually minimizes the risk of loss in a business organization by splitting different categories of products in different markets geographically. In early 1960’s & 1970’s there is rapid growth in diversification of businesses. But with the passage of time it became difficult to manage much diversified activities of business organization. Even in recent years it is quite hard for any business organization to operate in diversification mode because there are a lot of different requirements that must be taken into account by the business organization.ConglomerateIn business, a conglomerate is a company involved in multiple lines of business that have little relationship to one another. One well-known example is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which owns companies as varied as utilities, newspapers, food processors and furniture stores. Conglomerate diversity, then, refers to diversification by entering entirely new and unrelated lines of business. If you owned, say, a hardware store and then bought a car wash, you'd be engaged in conglomerate diversification. Typically, companies achieve conglomerate diversity through acquisitions -- buying existing businesses -- rather than starting new operations from scratch.

ConcentricConcentric diversification involves adding new products or services that are related to your current offerings -- either because they appeal to the same market or because they can be offered without much investment in new resources (or both.) If you own a bakery, for example, you might add a deli counter and start serving sandwiches. If you produce table linens, you might start making curtains. If you clean carpets for commercial customers, you might add services for the residential market. You can achieve concentric diversity with acquisitions, but often it's a natural outgrowth of what you're already doing.

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5. Central to any successful marketing strategy is an understanding of customers and their needs at first. Cite some relevant Customer centric Marketing Industry.Answer:-

For the successful marketing strategy is an understanding of customer and their needs at first if focuses on the customer’s satisfaction if focusing on competitors leads strategists inexorably to the notion of sustainable competitive advantage, focusing on the customer leads them to the notion of value. In the 1981 staff paper "Market strategy and the price-value model," Harvey Golub and Jane Henry introduce a framework designed for industries whose products have a sizable share of intangible or subjective value. Every product or service gives customers some benefit, for which they are willing to pay up to some maximum price. In microeconomic terms, this maximum is the "reservation price," or, in Golub and Henry’s lexicon, simply the value the customer ascribes to the product. The strength of the buying proposition for any customer is a function of its value to that customer, minus the price—in other words, the surplus value that the customer will enjoy once that product is paid for. Golub and Henry’s model plots all products in a certain market on a two-dimensional price-value graph, enabling the strategist to identify underpriced and overpriced products and to spot regions of price-value space that are relatively free of products and therefore ripe for new entries.

Another price-value model, designed more for business-to-business equipment sales than for the consumer goods market, is described in a 1979 staff paper by John L. Forbis and Nitin T. Mehta. Their "Economic value to the customer" framework is based on a simple observation. To get customers to switch from some other product to yours, you have to give them at least as much value beyond the price they are paying—that is, at least as much surplus value—as they are receiving from the product they currently use. This paper is a good example of the emphasis on detailed analysis and quantification that pervades all of McKinsey’s strategy work.

A 1988 staff paper by Michael J. Lanning and Edward G. Michaels combines the value maps developed in the price-value models with the idea of the "business system," which was introduced in 1980. The paper, "A business is a value delivery system," emphasizes the importance of a clear, well-articulated "value proposition" for each targeted market segment—that is, a simple statement of the benefits that the company intends to provide to each segment, along with the approximate price the company will charge each segment for those benefits. Lanning and Michaels use value maps for each customer segment to reveal which value propositions are most likely to appeal strongly to specific segments. Then, to help managers implement their value propositions throughout their companies, the authors introduce an important extension of the business system: the concept of the value delivery system, which is geared toward advancing the value proposition at each stage of production and distribution.

Everyone knows what is meant by the "price" of a product. But just as important for strategic purposes is a product’s value to the customer, something that is far less conspicuous because it often depends

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on the customer’s subjective assessments. A product’s value to customers is, simply, the greatest amount of money they would pay for it. In other words, a product will rarely be purchased when its price exceeds its value to the customer. Conversely, whenever the value of a product exceeds its price, customers can improve their lot by buying it.

From a strategic perspective, price and value are the only parameters that really matter to the customer, so it is important for managers to understand the interaction between them. We designed the price-value model for precisely that purpose. To apply the model, start by choosing a reference product or reference service—usually the one with the biggest market share in the industry.

6. What are the recent trends of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation of Indian Economy in different sectors? Also throw some light on e-governance?

Answer:-

The economy of India had undergone significant policy shifts in the beginning of the 1990s. This new model of economic reforms is commonly known as the LPG or Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation model. The primary objective of this model was to make the economy of India the fastest developing economy in the globe with capabilities that help it match up with the biggest economies of the world.The chain of reforms that took place with regards to business, manufacturing, and financial services industries targeted at lifting the economy of the country to a more proficient level. These economic reforms had influenced the overall economic growth of the country in a significant manner. LiberalisationLiberalisation refers to the slackening of government regulations. The economic liberalisation in India denotes the continuing financial reforms which began since July 24, 1991.Privatisation and GlobalisationPrivatisation refers to the participation of private entities in businesses and services and transfer of ownership from the public sector (or government) to the private sector as well. Globalisation stands for the consolidation of the various economies of the world.LPG and the Economic Reform Policy of IndiaFollowing its freedom on August 15, 1947, the Republic of India stuck to socialistic economic strategies. In the 1980s, Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, started a number of economic restructuring measures. In 1991, the country experienced a balance of payments dilemma following the Gulf War and the downfall of the erstwhile Soviet Union. The country had to make a deposit of 47 tons of gold to the Bank of England and 20 tons to the Union Bank of Switzerland. This was necessary under a recovery pact with the IMF or International Monetary Fund. Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund necessitated India to assume a sequence of systematic economic reorganisations.

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Electronic governance or e-governance is the application of information and communication technology (ICT) for delivering government services, exchange of information, communication transactions, integration of various stand-alone systems and services between government-to-customer (G2C), government-to-business (G2B), government-to-government (G2G) as well as back office processes and interactions within the entire government framework. Through e-governance, government services will be made available to citizens in a convenient, efficient and transparent manner. The three main target groups that can be distinguished in governance concepts are government, citizens and businesses/interest groups. In e-governance there are no distinct boundaries.

7. Discuss strategic planning & business system which is used across organizations worldwide to align business activities to the vision & improve the performance for more effective results?Answer:-

Despite the experience of many organizations, it is possible to turn strategies and plans into individual actions, necessary to produce a great business performance. But it's not easy. Many companies repeatedly fail to truly motivate their people to work with enthusiasm, all together, towards the corporate aims. Most companies and organizations know their businesses, and the strategies required for success. However many corporations - especially large ones - struggle to translate the theory into action plans that will enable the strategy to be successfully implemented and sustained. Here are some leading edge methods for effective strategic corporate implementation. These advanced principles of strategy realisation are provided by the Farsight Leadership organization, and this contribution is gratefully acknowledged.

Strategy realisation essential elements

1. motivational leadership - concentrates on achieving sustained performance through personal growth, values-based leadership and planning that recognises human dynamics

2. turning strategy into action - entails a phased approach, linking identified performance factors with strategic initiatives and projects designed to develop and optimise departmental and individual activities

3. performance management - involving the construction of organizational processes and capabilities necessary to achieve performance through people delivering results

1 - Motivational leadership

Real leadership is required to compete effectively and deliver growth. People look to leaders to bring meaning, to make sense of the seemingly unquenchable demand for results and the need for individuals to find purpose and value. Leadership is the common thread which runs through the entire process of translating strategy into results and is the key to engaging the hearts and

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minds of your people. Whether you are distilling strategy to achieve clarity of intent, engaging your people to drive the strategy into action process or performance managing the resulting actions, effective leadership will make the difference.

2 - Strategy into action

'Strategy into Action' planning is a phased approach charting a course through performance factors, linking strategic thrusts to project, departmental and individual activity. The ultimate goal is to enable organisations to effectively translate strategic intent all the way through to results in a clear and powerful process.

The real need is to creatively and systematically unfold the strategy, bring it to life by creating integrated action plans across an organisation that ensure all functions and divisions are aligned behind it.

8. What are the barriers to entry that may be defined for the New Entrants to combat future competition? Discuss the other 5 Forces as suggested by M. Porter in context of Indian Airline players.Answer:-

Conditions within a competitive environment that affect a company’s decision to enter into a market or not are called barriers to entry. These barriers may make it easy or difficult for a business to enter into the market and establish their presence. Barriers may exist in some industries or in some markets but not in others. There is also a chance that they exist but are not enforced strictly. There are many types of barriers to entry including those created by the government, by the existing companies, by the nature of the business and by the existing industry structure.Porter believed that the possibility of new entrants had a significant part to play in developing and changing the competitive dynamics of any industry. Porter’s definition helped people see this threat as substantial and influential. According to his model, this threat changes the competitive environment and directly impacts the profitability of an existing firm. If there is a higher threat of new entrants, this means that there are low barriers to entry and there is high possibility that the industry profit potential will decrease as a whole. This is because more competitors will fight for the same amount of business. Sales and market shares will be redistributed and there may be an effect on price and product quality.

Take-over: A company from outside the industry may take-over an existing firm, thereby avoiding any of the traditional barriers to entry within the firm. This firm may bring new and innovative expertise to the industry, thus changing the competitive dynamics for everyone.Diversification: Product diversification from existing firms into other categories.

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Competitive advantage: Foreign based competition, through development of a specific competitive advantage can also be a threat.Demand: Increased demand may result in increased prices thereby allowing a new entrant to make use of this increase and offset any high costs of market entry.Control: Existing firms may choose to control how a new firm enters the market rather than attempt to stop any new competitors from emerging.

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Assignment - B

Case Detail: After a dismal 2009, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), India’s largest consumer company by revenue, has seen volume growth return to double digits in three successive quarters this calendar year. This comes after volume either fell or grew marginally in the corresponding year-ago quarters. It also broke a run of 40 quarters during which volume didn’t expand by more than single digits. A year ago, the maker of Lux, Wheel, Dove and Knorr seemed to be floundering, caught in a spiral of price cuts and shrinking margins.The comeback has taken place amid a pitched battle with Procter and Gamble Home Products Ltd (P&G), which also spilled over from the retail shelves into the courts as they fought over claims made in advertisements.That fight is reminiscent of its campaign in the 1980s to tackle Nirma, which was making inroads at the lower end of the market, by launching Wheel, now India’s largest detergent brand with 18% market share. It also brings to mind the 2004-05 laundry war with P&G, during which both the companies took a hit on their margins, but eventually HUL emerged stronger.Keeping pace: Consumer products on display at a supermarket in Delhi. Close to 90% of HUL’s portfolio is fresh—either a new product or one that’s been relaunched over the last 12 to 18 months.The Indian arm of the Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc, which has been present in the country since 1933, did several things that seem to be working for it. The company completely revamped the product range, cut prices to keep the competition on its toes, tweaked advertising to better position the offerings, reduced its inventory levels and reached even further into rural India, opening up new markets for branded goods.What changed at HUL that allowed to it to succeed this time around? Gopal Vittal, executive director of the company’s home and personal care (HPC) division, which accounts for 70% of revenue, characterizes it as an internal transformation.The Comeback

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“The company has now become comfortable in a schizophrenic culture,” he said. He was referring to the new attitude of the company—more aggressive, flexible and nimble enough to take up both large and small opportunities that are sharply different in scope.The gain has not come without its share of pain. For instance, HUL was forced to reduce the price of Rin detergent and bars by close to 30% following the launch of Tide Naturals, a 30% cheaper variant of the P&G flagship brand Tide. Then came a round of increases in content and pack sizes.The aggressive price cuts have resulted in a decrease of overall sector profit, meaning all companies need to work that much harder and sell that much more merely to stay in place, leave alone getting profit growth to hasten.This battle between the two global consumer giants was inevitable, given that growth is tapering in the developed markets. Cincinnati-based P&G, which made a serious push into India only in 2009, although it has been present in the country since 1989, wants to expand as fast as possible in emerging markets. HUL has a year-to-date market share of 34.5% in detergents and 45.9% in shampoo versus P&G’s 9.6% and 23%, respectively.While the rivalry has exacted its toll, it has seen both companies benefiting from the expansion in the market. “Despite risks associated with the tactics in laundry, P&G seems confident in its strategy and has expressed a desire to continue competing with Unilever and other companies in contested areas,” Dibadj said in his report.While P&G has been seeking to make up for lost time, HUL, on the other hand, has single-mindedly sought to “unblinkingly defend (its) market leadership,” as Harish Manwani, president, Asia Africa, Unilever executive and non-executive chairman of HUL, put it at a press briefing on 28 July.That has meant a vigorous churning of the product range with as many as 41 launches during the year. Close to 90% of HUL’s portfolio is fresh—either a new product or one that’s been relaunched over the last 12 to 18 months.The relaunches include the companies so-called local jewels—Breeze, Liril, Moti, Pears and Hamam—aimed at taking on homegrown rivals such as Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), which makes Godrej No. 1 and Cinthol, and Wipro Ltd’s Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting division, which has brands such as Santoor. HUL also reintroduced what it calls power brands—Lifebuoy and Clinic Plus. It also launched premium products such as anti-ageing formulas and hair conditioners under existing brands such as Ponds, Dove and Lakme.Earlier strategies had centred around big categories and big brands. In 2000, it sought to focus on 30 power brands. In 2005-06, the Masstige(Mass Prestige) strategy sought to make premium brands available to the masses through appropriate pricing.That focus on size has widened to accommodate smaller segments.“We are as passionate, as determined about doing a Rs10 crore opportunity as we are about Rs2,000 crore,” says Vittal.Rivals recognize the efforts made by the company.

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The company wants to tap growth at both ends of the pyramid. The large categories at the bottom, such as detergents and soaps, are growing well, while at the top, growth is explosive, Vittal said.As the economy continues to boom—India boasts of the second fastest pace of growth globally—greater prosperity will put more disposable income in the hands of a larger number of consumers, all with newly awakened aspirations. Or so the argument runs.This is already happening in the rural areas, helped along by some of the government’s social welfare programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, better infrastructure and increased job opportunities. Meanwhile, in urban India, consumers are looking for more choice and better products.“Companies have to decide between high volumes and high-value growth. This is a tactical decision,” said Sunil Duggal, chief executive officer of Dabur India Ltd, which makes personal and Ayurvedic products such as Vatika and Uveda.That won’t be an easy call to make considering HUL’s size and reach and the scope of its ambition.“In the next five years, the market is going to be 2-2.5 times its present size,” Vittal said. Right now, his key concern is to ensure that HUL will be nimble enough to keep pace with the rapid evolution of the market.

Question:-1. Conduct the Portfolio Analysis of Various Brands of HUL w.r.t Categories/Product Lines. Answer:- After the portfolio analysis of the various brands of HUL we conclude that, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), India’s largest consumer company by revenue, has seen volume growth return to double digits in three successive quarters this calendar year. This comes after volume either fell or grew marginally in the corresponding year-ago quarters. It also broke a run of 40 quarters during which volume didn’t expand by more than single digits. A year ago, the maker of Lux, Wheel, Dove and Knorr seemed to be floundering, caught in a spiral of price cuts and shrinking margins.The comeback has taken place amid a pitched battle with Procter and Gamble Home Products Ltd (P&G), which also spilled over from the retail shelves into the courts as they fought over claims made in advertisements.That fight is reminiscent of its campaign in the 1980s to tackle others as Nirma, which was making inroads at the lower end of the market, by launching Wheel, now India’s largest detergent brand with 18% market share. It also brings to mind the 2004-05 laundry war with P&G, during which both the companies took a hit on their margins, but eventually HUL emerged stronger.Keeping pace: Consumer products on display at a supermarket in Delhi. Close to 90% of HUL’s portfolio is fresh—either a new product or one that’s been relaunched over the last 12 to 18 months.

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The Indian arm of the Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc, which has been present in the country since 1933, did several things that seem to be working for it. The company completely revamped the product range; cut prices to keep the competition on its toes, tweaked advertising to better position the offerings, reduced its inventory levels and reached even further into rural India, opening up new markets for branded goods.What changed at HUL that allowed to it to succeed this time around? Gopal Vittal, executive director of the company’s home and personal care (HPC) division, which accounts for 70% of revenue, characterizes it as an internal transformation.

2. Comment on the launches as a result of Turn around Strategies adopted by Company.Answer:- Turnaround management is a process dedicated to corporate renewal. It uses analysis and planning to save troubled companies and returns them to solvency, and to identify the reasons for failing performance in the market, and rectify them. Turnaround management involves management review, root failure causes analysis, and SWOT analysis to determine why the company is failing. Once gdg analysis is completed, a long term strategic plan and restructuring plan are created. These plans may or may not involve a bankruptcy filing. Once approved, turnaround professionals begin to implement the plan, continually reviewing its progress and make changes to the plan as needed to ensure the company returns to solvency.Turnaround Managers are also called Turnaround Practitioners , and often are interim managers who only stay as long as it takes to achieve the turnaround. Assignments can take anything from 3 to 24 months depending on the size of the organization and the complexity of the job. Turnaround management does not only apply to distressed companies, it in fact can help in any situation where direction, strategy or a general change of the ways of working needs to be implemented. Therefore turnaround management is closely related to change management, transformation management and post-merger-integration management. High growth situation for example are one typical scenario where turnaround experts also help. More and more turnaround managers are becoming a one-stop-shop and provide help with corporate funding (working closely with banks and the Private Equity community) and with professional services firms (such as lawyers and insolvency practitioners) to have access to a full range of services that are typically needed in a turnaround process. Most turnaround managers are freelancers and work on day rates. The job often involves frequent travel. Others work for large corporations and have permanent positions. 3. “Companies have to decide between high volumes and high-value growth. This is a tactical decision” .Comment Answer:- Any person, corporation, or nation should know who or where they are, where they want to be, and how to get there. The strategic-planning process utilizes analytical models that provide a realistic picture of the individual, corporation, or nation at its “consciously incompetent” level, creating the necessary motivation for the development of a strategic plan. The process requires

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five distinct steps outlined below and the selected strategy must be sufficiently robust to enable the firm to perform activities differently from its rivals or to perform similar activities in a more efficient manner.A good strategic plan includes metrics that translate the vision and mission into specific end points. This is critical because strategic planning is ultimately about resource allocation and would not be relevant if resources were unlimited. This article aims to explain how finance, financial goals, and financial performance can play a more integral role in the strategic planning and decision-making process, particularly in the implementation and monitoring stage. An analysis of the firm’s business trends, external opportunities, internal resources, and core competencies. For external analysis, firms often utilize Porter’s five forces model of industry competition, which identifies the company’s level of rivalry with existing competitors, the threat of substitute products, the potential for new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers, and the bargaining power of customers.For internal analysis, companies can apply the industry evolution model, which identifies takeoff (technology, product quality, and product performance features), rapid growth (driving costs down and pursuing product innovation), early maturity and slowing growth (cost reduction, value services, and aggressive tactics to maintain or gain market share), market saturation (elimination of marginal products and continuous improvement of value-chain activities), and stagnation or decline (redirection to fastest-growing market segments and efforts to be a low-cost industry leader).

Assignment – C

Question:- Which of the following list is comprise of support activities:- Options

a) human resource management, information systems, procurement & firm infrastructureb) customer service, information systems, technology development, and procurement

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c) human resource management, technology development, customer service, and procurement

d) human resource management, customer service, marketing and sales, and operations

Question No. 2 Marks - 10Which of the following is true about business strategies? Options

a) An organization should stick with its strategy for the life of the business.b) All firms within an industry will adopt the same strategy.c) Well defined missions make strategy development much easier.d) Strategies are formulated independently of SWOT analysis.

Question No. 3 Marks - 10Which of the following is an example of competing on the basis of differentiation? Options

a) A firm offers more reliable products than its competitors.b) A firm's products are introduced into the market faster than its competitors'.c) A firm's distribution network routinely delivers its product on time.d) firm manufactures its product with less raw material waste than its competitors.

Question No. 4 Marks - 10The two internal elements of SWOT analysis are Options

a) strengths and weaknessesb) opportunities and threatsc) strengths and opportunitiesd) weaknesses and threats

Question No. 5 Marks - 10The impact of strategies on the general direction and basic character of a company is Options

a) short rangedb) medium rangec) long ranged) temporal

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Question No. 6 Marks - 10What can be defined as the art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives? Options

a) Strategy formulationb) Strategy evaluationc) Strategy implementationd) Strategic management

Question No. 7 Marks - 10Which group would be classified as a stakeholder? Options

a) Banksb) Suppliersc) Employeesd) All of these

Question No. 8 Marks - 10 The fundamental purpose of an organization's mission statement is to Options

a) create a good human relations climate in the organizationb) define the organization's purpose in societyc) define the operational structure of the organizationd) generate good public relations for the organization

Question No. 9 Marks - 10What analytical tool has four quadrants based on two dimensions: competitive position and market growth? Options

a) Competitive Profile Matrixb) Internal-External Matrixc) Grand Strategy Matrixd) SPACE Matrix

Question No. 10 Marks - 10The primary benefit sought from restructuring is

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Optionsa) Employee involvement.b) Cost reduction.c) Increased morale.d) Increased number of hierarchical levels in the organization.

Question No. 11 Marks - 10Cash cows are always in Options

a) Introductory industryb) Growing industryc) Mature industryd) Declining industry

Question No. 12 Marks - 10Which of the following resources is used by all organizations to achieve desired objectives? Options

a) Financial resources,b) Physical resources,c) Human resourcesd) All of the mentioned options

Question No. 13 Marks - 10Walls” ice cream purchase “Polka” in order to capture the market. Such kind of integration is called: Options

a) Forward Integrationb) Backward Integrationc) Horizontal Integrationd) Product Development

Question No. 14 Marks - 10The _______________ has its own business strategy, objectives and competitors and these are often differ from parent company. Options

a) Strategic Business Unit structureb) Matrix structure

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c) Divisional structured) None of given option

Question No. 15 Marks - 10Can best be described as short-term in nature. Options

a) Annual objectivesb) Tenurec) Mission statementsd) Strategies

Question No. 16 Marks - 10Which of these is often considered the first step in strategic planning? Options

a) Establishing goals and objectivesb) Developing a vision statementc) Making a profitd) Developing a mission statement

Question No. 17 Marks - 10Which of the following are Porter's generic strategies? Options

a) Low price, differentiation, focusb) Cost leadership, differentiation, focusc) Price leadership, differentiation, focusd) Low cost, differentiation, focus differentiation

Question No. 18 Marks - 10Which matrices are also known as Portfolio matrices? Options

a) SPACE and BCG matrixb) IE and BCG matrixc) TOWS and IE matrixd) SPACE and TOWS matrix

Question No. 19 Marks - 10Conglomerate diversification is another name for which of the following?

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Options

a) Related diversificationb) Unrelated diversificationc) Portfolio diversificationd) Acquisition diversification

Question No. 20 Marks - 10Restructuring is also referred to as Options

a) De-layering.b) Starting over.c) Diversifying.d) Job security

Question No. 21 Marks - 10Hofer’s matrix is a fifteen cell matrix in which businesses are plotted in terms of their competitive position & Options

a) Relative profitb) Relative market sharec) Growth rated) Stage of product/market evolution

Question No. 22 Marks - 10Functional managers are responsible Options

a) for a single area of activityb) to the upper level of management and staffc) for complex organizational sub-unitsd) for obtaining copyrights and patents for newly developed processes and equipment

Question No. 23 Marks - 10The degree to which jobs are standardized and guided by rules and procedures is called: Options

a) Work specializationb) Centralization

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c) Decentralizationd) Formalization

Question No. 24 Marks - 10Which factor has been the most rapidly changing component in an organization’s general environment in the past quarter-century? Options

a) Globalb) Economicc) Sociald) Technological

Question No. 25 Marks - 10The process of collaborative goal setting by a manager and subordinate; the extent to which goals are accomplished is a major factor in evaluating and rewarding the subordinate’s performance. It is called: Options

a) Management by objectiveb) Management by resourcesc) Management by authorityd) Management by system

Question No. 26 Marks - 10An organization that assigns specialists from different functional departments to work on one or more than one projects being led by project managers is called ------------- Options

a) Team Organizationb) Virtual Organizationc) Matrix organizationd) Learning Organization

Question No. 27 Marks - 10This is an example of a global strategy which is low in risk as it avoids the cost of establishing production operations in another country Options

a) Franchisingb) Licensing

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c) Exportd) globalisation

Question No. 28 Marks - 10In the activities are grouped according to functions of management such as finance, accounting, purchasing. Options

a) product/ market structureb) Line organistionc) staff organisationd) functional structure

Question No. 29 Marks - 10Is characterized by direct lines of authority flowing from top to bottom of the organizational hierarchy and the lines of responsibility flowing in an opposite but equally direct manner Options

a) flat organisationb) Line organizationc) functional organisationd) informal organisation

Question No. 30 Marks - 10Is the process of evaluating the employee’s performance on the job in terms of the requirements of the job. Options

a) performance appraisalb) Controllingc) reviewd) Analysis

Question No. 31 Marks - 10Under this method, the worker is given training at the workplace by his immediate supervisor Options

a) on the site trainingb) offline trainingc) on the job trainingd) on demand training

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Question No. 32 Marks - 10Unbroken line of authority is known as___ Options

a) Line of commandb) hierarchy of commndc) Commandd) Chain of command

Question No. 33 Marks - 10Are the guidelines to decision making. Options

a) Objectivesb) Goalsc) Policiesd) Decisions

Question No. 34 Marks - 10Refers to the formal, established pattern of relationships among the various parts of a firm or any organisation. Options

a) Organisationb) Organisational structurec) Organisational cultured) Organisation environment

Question No. 35 Marks - 10A company's ability to meet its short-term financial obligations is measured by which of the following ratios? Options

a) liquidity ratiosb) profitabilityc) activityd) leverage

Question No. 36 Marks - 10 The competencies or skills that a firm employs to transform inputs into outputs are

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Optionsa) Tangible resources.b) intangible resourcesc) Organizational capabilities.d) reputational resources

Question No. 37 Marks - 10The "balanced scorecard" supplies top managers with a _____________ view of the business. Options

a) long-term financialb) detailed and complexc) simple & routined) fast & comprehensive

Question No. 38 Marks - 10A marketing department that promises delivery quicker than the production department's ability to produce is an example of a lack of understanding of the Options

a) Synergy of the business units.b) Need to maintain the reputation of the company.c) organizational culture and leadershipd) Interrelationships among functional areas and firm strategies.

Question No. 39 Marks - 10Which one of the following should consider in economy while conducting environmental analysis? Options

a) GNPb) Transportc) Unemploymentd) Channel of distribution

Question No. 40 Marks - 10Which of the following shows the process of creating something new? Options

a) Innovationb) Modelingc) Business modeld) Research

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